Determination and validation of micro-forming limit diagrams for very thin materials

As a result of an increasing industrial demand for very small parts, this paper proposes an extension of the concept of forming limit diagrams for very thin sheets (thicknesses of 0.1 mm) called micro-forming limit diagrams (MFLD). A specific drawing tool of small size was designed and subsequently achieved in the laboratory. The formability of a rolled and annealed 1050A aluminum sheet (99.5%) was characterized and analyzed. Seeing the size of the specimen and the tool, the spacer is replaced by a central electro-discharged smaller thickness. The micro-forming press was coupled with a system for strain measurements based on image analysis with a correlation method. After experimental tests with 7 different geometries, the strains were determined at the beginning of the necking from the various images. Based on this, three methods of determination of the MFLD were proposed (white pixel emergence, polynomial method and strain profile analysis) and compared. Finally, an experimental deep drawing cylindrical cup test rendered it possible to validate the most accurate method for determining the micro-forming limit diagram.